Parking meters are used to receive payment for the use of parking spaces on municipal streets and in parking lots. They are used to regulate a limited number of parking spaces, generally from one to four, and are situated adjacent the parking spaces. This is as opposed to a central collection system where a single machine is used to receive payment and issue tickets for a large number of spaces which may not be adjacent to the machine. Parking meters typically display the time which has been paid for so that users and parking enforcement officers can determine if payment is required or a parking violation has occurred.
Traditionally parking meters have only accepted coins for payment, while centralized parking machines have accepted coins, bills or credit cards. Coin operated meters are undesirable due to vandalism and theft, and the cost of collecting the coins. Also drivers often do not have the proper change. Various attempts have been made to incorporate payment by cards into parking meters. International patent application no. PCT/US97/02784, publication no. WO 97/30421 of POM, Inc. describes an electronic parking meter system that charges a fixed amount of time to a smart card upon parking. The card is reinserted when the motorist is leaving the space and a refund of any remaining time is provided. U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,971 Chan describes an electronic parking meter system that uses a pre-paid account card to charge a maximum chargeable amount to the card when the meter is started. Such systems have not received wide acceptance due to difficulties in implementing such pre-paid parking cards.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related thereto are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those of skill in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.